BURBANK - A spectacular three-alarm fire raged today at a building in Burbank housing a small market, badly damaging the business and leaving a firefighter with a minor burn injury, authorities said.

The fire at Wholesale Giant Inc., a tobacco and general merchandise store at the intersection of Victory Boulevard and North Manning Street, was reported at 3:30 a.m., said Lt. Eric Deroian, watch commander at the Burbank Police Department.

Firefighters extinguished the flames shortly after 7 a.m., Burbank fire Capt. Peter Hendrickson said. The cause of the fire was under investigation. A damage estimate was not immediately available.

Burbank firefighters at first battled the blaze from inside the structure but then assumed a defensive mode -- fighting it from the exterior -- when it spread to the attic. The roof collapsed a short time later.

At one point, the flames caused some carbon dioxide cartridges -- about two or three inches long and a half inch in diameter -- to explode inside the store, but no one was hurt in the blasts, Hendrickson said.

Also, some small butane containers of the type that are used to refill cigarette lighters caught fire and emitted flames like blowtorches, Hendrickson said.

Burbank firefighters were assisted by crews from the Pasadena and Glendale fire departments, under a mutual-aid agreement, Hendrickson said. Assistance was offered by the Los Angeles Fire Department, but it was not needed.

Victory Boulevard was closed between Cahuenga Boulevard and Manning because of the fire.